Israeli forces brace for evacuation of West Bank outpost

Settlers talk to Israeli police in Amona outpost, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. The military issued eviction orders the day before telling residents to evacuate Amona within 48 hours and blocked roads leading to the outpost. Thousands of soldiers and police gathered around Amona early Wednesday morning. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
(The Associated Press)

A settler walks outside Amona outpost, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. The military issued eviction orders the day before telling residents to evacuate Amona within 48 hours and blocked roads leading to the outpost. Thousands of soldiers and police gathered around Amona early Wednesday morning. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
(The Associated Press)

FILE - This Wednesday, May 18, 2016 file photo shows buildings in Amona, an unauthorized Israeli outpost in the West Bank, east of the Palestinian town of Ramallah. Israeli forces and West Bank settlers are bracing for the looming evacuation of a settlement outpost slated for demolition. Amona is the largest of about 100 unauthorized outposts erected in the West Bank without permission but generally tolerated by the Israeli government. The outpost, built in the 1990s, stretches out over a rugged, grassy hilltop and looks out across the valley onto Palestinian villages. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
(The Associated Press)

AMONA, West Bank – Israeli forces and West Bank settlers are bracing for the looming evacuation of a settlement outpost slated for demolition.

Israeli media reported 3,000 soldiers and police gathered around Amona Wednesday. A few dozen settlers set fire to tires at the entrance to the outpost and threw stones at forces.

Israel's Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that Amona was built on private Palestinian land and must be demolished.

Amona is the largest of about 100 unauthorized outposts erected in the West Bank without permission but generally tolerated by the Israeli government. Built in the 1990s, it stretches over a grassy hilltop and looks out across the valley onto Palestinian villages.

Its fate has threatened to rupture Netanyahu's narrow coalition, dominated by ultranationalists who support settlements.